Should Colorado Boy Be Allowed to Join Girl Scouts?

A 7-year-old Denver boy was turned away by a local Girl Scout troop when he asked to become a member. Despite his gender, Bobby Montoya has been into “girl stuff” since he was two, according to his mother Felisha Archuleta.

“Bobby identifies himself as a girl, and he’s a boy,” she said. “He’s been doing this since he was about two years old. He’s loved girl stuff, so we just let him dress how he wants, as long as he’s happy.”

Part of taking on girl interests include a desire to join the Girl Scouts. Bobby’s older sister had been a member of the Girl Scouts and he wanted to join as well, but the troop leader said it was not allowed when Archuleta brought her son to register.

According to Archuleta, “She said, ‘It doesn’t matter how he looks, he has boy parts, he can’t be in Girl Scouts. Girl Scouts don’t allow that [and] I don’t want to be in trouble by parents or my supervisor.’”

This isn’t the first time a transgender child has wanted to be included in a scout troop. The Girl Scouts of Colorado later sent a statement saying, “Our requests for support of transgender kids have grown, and Girl Scouts of Colorado is working to best support these children, their families and the volunteers who serve them.”

The organization also said, “If a child identifies as a girl and the child’s family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout. In this case, an associate delivering our program was not aware of our approach.”

According to the statement, the troop leader contacted her supervisor and the organization is now working with the family to allow Bobby to get involved and be supported by the Girl Scouts.